Vapor-releasing fan-driven deodorizer



Oct. 2, 1956 L. P. ZELENKA 2,764,789

VAPORRELEASING FAN-DRIVEN DEODORIZER Filed July 3. 1953 46 INVENTOR Lou s P 29 lenka PM an/m 41444 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,764,789 VAPOR-RELEASINGFAN-DRIVEN DEODORIZER Louis P. Z'elenka, Mount Lebanon, Pa., assignor to Commonwealth Sanitation Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 3, 1e53, Serial No. 365,945

4; Claims. (21. 21-14 My invention relates to. devices for deodorizing and disinfecting the atmosphere in. rooms and spaces occupied by people, and the invention consists in certain, new and useful improvements in such devices, to the end that deodorants and disinfectants may be more effectively released and distributed than hitherto.

The principal object of my invention is to, provide a device which is highly eificient for the purposes expressed, a device which is, furthermore, inexpensive to manufacture, easily serviced, and which combines utility with attractiveness inappearance. Other objects of the invention will appear in the, following specification.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig, l is a View, in perspective of a device embodying the invention in exemplary way;

Fig. 2 is a view in medial, vertical section of the device shown in Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, taken on the plane III-- -III of Fig. 2, and showing in elevation a container for disinfectant or deodorant which is incorporated in the device.

Referring to the drawings the device of the invention comprises a plurality of thin-walled tubular elements, which in this case take the form of four cylindrical baflles 2, 3, 4 and 5 nested one within another, on common axis, and laterally spaced from one another, as shown in Fig. 2. Radial vanes 6, extending longitudinally of and parallel to the axisof s'aid nest: of baffles, are spaced apart around the periphery or circumference of the battle nest, The baflies 2-5 may be formed of strips of sheet metal, say sheet aluminum, and the vanes 6. may be formed of the same material. The vanes are slotted, as at 7, and the strips. that form the. baflles are threaded through the slots, with the otherwise free ends. of the strips united in any suitable way, to complete thecylinders that severally form thebafiies.

The inner cylindrical bafile or tubular element 5 forms a chamber C, in which means are provided for releasing vapors of a selected deodorant or disinfectant. The chamber C, formed within the compass of the bafiie 5, is closed at its opposite ends. At the left-hand or proximate end (Fig. 2) the chamberis closed by a plaque-lik'ernember 12, and at opposite or distal end by a monitor or cap member 13. Indeed, the chamber C may be properly defined as the space within the assembled tubular element 5, the member 12 and the cap member 13, as will be seen in Fig, 2. The member 12 is provided with a peripheral flange 14, and the vanes 6 are secured to the member 12, by tack-welding, or by means of rivets, or other suitable fasteners, and thus the plaque-like member or supporting plate reinforces and integrates the b'afilc and vane assembly. The said member 12 includes an orifice 15, whereby the assembled unit may be supported, say as a picture is supported, upon the wall of a room, whose atmosphere is to be served by the device.

Within the chamber C a bracket is provided, such bracket comprising a vertical leg 16 secured, as by rivets or welding, to the plaque-like member 12. From leg 16 a horizontal arm 17 extends and this arm includes an elonii'atented Qet, 2,1355

gate slot 18; and from the distal end of this slotted arm a. leg 19 extends .downwardly, A motor-driven, fanl 20fiis mounted on the leg 19, the stator 21 of the motor having a pair of rigid studs 221(the two studs lie onebehind the other in the line ofsight in Fig. 2) that abut upon the left face of the leg19. Each stud is providedwith a threaded, stem 23 that is projected throughanbrifi ce provided therefor inthebod'y of the leg, and ori the projecting ends of each ofthe two studs a nut, 24is tightened, thereby providinga rigidmountingffor themotor-fan unitZO, 21.

The threaded-stems 23 extend only part way through the threaded bones of the nuts 24, leaving threaded sockets for the reception of screws 25 (Figs, 1 andZ) w that secure the cap 13 in the assembly described; Itmay benoted that the cap, by virtue of its cup-shaped form, not only provides-a closure'for the right handend of the chamber C, but also providesyapart'of, or a longitudinal extension heater isa well-known expedient-inthe artiand'itis'needless toillustrate the same inthe accompanyingdrawing. The baffies 3, 4 and 5 are recessed at the bottom or the assembly, to provide lateral security-for the container seated .upon the fibafflei 2.- Conveniently; a pipe 9 for fillingthe container extends from afilling funnel 11 (Fig;

3), Whichfunnel willbe understood to be"accessible-ex-' ternally of'the assembled device, to a delivery end 10 opening into the containera i i A wick formed of a webof absorbent fabric 28 is supported upon a metal disk 29, and draped: therefrom in the form of :an inverted U, as appears'in Fig. 3; A vertical supporting stem 30, carrying a nut 31 on its' lower end extends upwardly through disk 29 and the supported fabric}, and terminates in a head 32 at its upper end: The stem is provided with a washer 33, between which washer and the top of the fabric a helical compression spring 34' is arranged, to secure the fabric upon the said disk. The twolegs of the inverted U-phapedbodyof the wick depend into the pool of liquid in the container, and thus the entire wick body becomes saturated with the liquid and promotes the release of the liquidlin the form of tvapor in the chamber C,*whence the motor-driven fan 2th propels it into the room or atmosphere. -to-be. treated, as will presently appear in greater detail.

v In orderto regulate the rate, of evaporation oftheliquid under. the effect of. thefan; the wick is vertically adjustable inlits extent above the-container 8. Meansyto this end comprise a bell-crank lever 35 that is pivotally mounted, at 36, in a bracket 37 on the supporting arm 17. The upwardly extending shorter arm of the bell-crank lever is pivotally secured, as at 38, to a nut 39 which .is in threaded engagement with a shaft 46 fixed for rotation to a lug 41 integral with supporting arm 17, and the right-hand end (Fig. 2) of this shaft is equipped with a socket stud 42 accessible through an orifice 43 in the cap 13. A suitable socket wrench or key may be inserted in the stud 42 and the shaft 40 rotated, to cause the nut to travel along the shaft in either direction desired. The distal end of the laterally extending longer arm of the bell-crank is articulated to the wick-supporting stem 30; such end of the arm being formed with an eye 44 located between the head 32 and washer 33 on the said stem. Thus, as the nut is caused to travel one way or the other along the shaft 4, the bell-crank lever is selectively rotated clockwise or counterclockwise on its pivot 36, with the eflect that the wick is raised or lowered, as desired. Lateral pins 47 extend from the bracket portion or leg 16 along the outer sides of the wick (Fig. 3) and serve to guide the wick during its adjustment.

Under the eflFect of the fan 20 in operation air is drawn into the chamber C, the air inlets advantageously comprising louvres 45, and an opening in the side wall of chamber C in the form of a circumferential opening 46 between the inner edge of the cap member 13 and the outer edge of baffle 5. The air thus drawn into the chamber 5 is propelled over the surface of the wick and entrains the vapors yielded thereby, whence the vaporladen air is projected through a multiplicity of outlet passages into the channels formed by and between the bafiles and vanes, whereby a distributed and substantially draftless delivery of the vapor-laden air is made into the outer atmosphere served.

Such outlet passages referred to are provided by spacing the inner edges or proximate ends of the inner and intermediate bafiles 3, 4 and 5 from the plaque-like member 12, with the corresponding edge of the outermost baffle 2 positioned in abutment upon the member 12, or substantially so. Thus, each of the annular spaces a, b and 0 between the four nested baffles 25 are in open communication with the chamber C around its entire periphery, wherefore the propelled vapor-laden air flows in streams that are distributed, with the manifest aid of the radial vanes, around the periphery of the assembly of baflles and vanes.

The particular composition of the liquid deodorant or disinfectant that is used in the device is not a matter of importance so far as my present invention is concerned. Many suitable liquids for the purpose are known to the art. In modification the vapor-yielding means may be provided in solid form, a solid that sublimates under the effect of the driven air and releases the essential vapors thereto. Deodorant and disinfectant substances in solid or block form are also known to the art, and it is needless to involve this specification with a consideration of them,

other than to note that a block of the selected substance may be suspended from the end of the vertically adjustable stem 30.

Other modifications and variations will occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the appended claims.

7 I claim:

1. In a device of the class described having a basal member adapted to be supported upon the vertical wall of a room, inner, outer and intermediate thin-Walled tubular elements that are nested on a common axis normal to said basal member, that are laterally spaced from one another, and that are mounted on said basal member, a plurality of vanes extending radially of and between the nest of elements at spaced apart points peripherally of the nest and forming outlet passages in the spaces between said tubular elements and said vanes, the proximate ends of the inner and intermediate tubular elements of the nest being spaced from said basal member to provide communication between said outlet passages and the space within the inner tubular element, a cap member secured in position over the distal end of said inner tubu lar element, said inner tubular element and cap member forming a chamber having walls that include an inlet for the admission of air from the outer atmosphere, a motor-driven fan mounted in said chamber for drawing air through said inlet and delivering the air into said outlet passages, and vapor-releasing means mounted in said chamber in the line of air flow between said inlet and outlet passages.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said inlet for air comprises an annular space between the distal end of said inner tubular element and said cap member.

3. In a device of the class described having a plaquelike basal member, inner, outer and intermediate thinwalled tubular elements that are nested on a common axis normal to said basal member, that are laterally spaced from one another, and that are mounted on said basal member, a plurality of vanes extending radially 'of and between the nest of elements at spaced apart points peripherally of the nest and forming outlet passages in the spaces between said tubular elements and said vanes,-

the proximate ends of the inner and intermediate tubular elements of the nest being spaced from said basal member to provide communication between said outlet passages and the space within the inner tubular element, a cap member secured in position over the distal end of said inner tubular element, said inner tubular element and cap member forming a chamber having walls that include an inlet for the admission of air from the outer atmosphere, a motor-driven fan mounted in said cap member for propelling air from said inlet to said outlet passages, and vapor-releasing means mounted in said chamber between said fan and said outlet passages.

4. The structure of claim 3, in which the vapor-releasing means in said chamber comprise a container for liquid, a wick extending upward from such liquid, adjustable means supporting said wick, and means accessible externally of said cap member for actuating said adjustable wick-supporting means for varying the extent of the wick above said liquid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,199,033 Worrell Sept. 19, 1916 1,239,515 Peterson Sept. 11, 1917 1,911,871 Andersen May 30, 1933 2,318,393 Honerkamp et a1. May 4, 1943 2,537,833 Joos Jan. 9, 1951 2,555,199 Meyerhoefer May 29, 1951 2,564,998 Sayers Aug. 21, 1951 2,571,726 Koch Oct. 16, 1951 2,603,468 Sutton July 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 150,368 Austria Aug. 10, 1937 

